Vinegar not a natural product?

[Sandi_lea]

Hi,

I just read this on another board

"White vinegar - average household vinegar is made from petroleum and is no longer a natural product."

Any thoughts? Why do they think that?

Sandi

[USAmma]

Hmm my bottle says its made from barely.

[AntoninBeGonin]

Mine is made from grain, too.

Maybe it's an e-rumor?

~Nay

[ashleyhaugh]

mine says its made from grain too

[kittyhead]

regular old heinz brand white vinegar is made from corn, i called them once for a friend to make sure that some of their products were gluten free.

[Sandi_lea]

e-rumor.....thats what I thought!!!

Thanks,
Sandi

[Elowyn]

You know you're too much of a chemistry nerd when:

You read the OP, and immediately try to figure out *how* someone would make vinegar out of petroleum. Short answer, nowhere near as easily as fermenting some grain. I'm a goofball.

[lenore80]

Originally Posted by Elowyn

You know you're too much of a chemistry nerd when:

Or how about when you always think of vinegar as " watered down Acetic acid"!

ETA: I saw on wikipedia (look up acetic acid) that

The global demand of acetic acid is around 6.5 million tonnes per year (Mt/a), of which approximately 1.5 Mt/a is met by recycling; the remainder is manufactured from petrochemical feedstocks or from biological sources.

This is probably where the petroleum idea came from. In fact, the article goes on to talk about how it has to be from a biological source in order to be food-grade. I wouldn't worry about it.

ETA AGAIN:

I don't want to give anyone the idea that vinegar is dangerous! Acetic acid is what give vinegar is smell and taste. Its a lot different from the stuff used in the lab, which is probably petro-based. There has to be some chemist to help clarify this for me!

[Meiri]

ummm, how can something that comes from the ground not be natural??

[Meiri]

DH tells me that vinegar can be made from petroleum, but then since Mother Nature made/makes petroleum, I wonder how it's not natural.

Now I don't use such vinegar in the kitchen for food uses, but that doesn't mean that that vinegar is not also as natural as the grain or potato or apple or grape/wine vinegars.

If it comes from Nature, it's natural, whether one wishes to eat it or not.

[kamilla626]

I think the "not natural" aspect comes into play because the petroleum that we use from the ground is changed in a molecular way, so that it can not be re-used by the earth again.

You could say that styrofoam is "natural" because it comes from us, just like nests come from birds and hives come from bees. But humans alter nature's elements on a whole different level.

[Meiri]

True enough Kamilla, but I haven't heard that acetic acid from petroleum is not biodegradable in the same way that plastics or styrofoams are not.

I think we have bigger worries than diluted to 5% acidicity acetic acid, regardless of what it was made from.

[kamilla626]

I see what you're saying.

I agree that it is a pretty small area of concern in the grand scheme of things.

[AngelBee]

I almost freaked....glad I am in the clear

[Meiri]

For economic reasons, I buy the cheap white vinegar, which is the stuff most likely to not be made from grains or potatoes, and use it for laundry and other cleaning. I've used it for my unpoo hair rinse too. In the kitchen, I only have vinegars made from food stuffs: grain or potato, grape/wine.

As far as I know, all are biodegradable, so pollution is not an issue.